SEAsite Lao is a web site containing
interactive multimedia materials designed to assist in learning the Lao
Language and aspect of the Lao culture. Spoken Lao, a series of thirty
lessons, is the core of this site. Each lesson has exercises that include
interactive quizzes with immediate feedback, vocabulary flash cards, and
matching games.

The three regional tones of Lao - Northern (Luang Phrabang), Central
(Vientiane), and Southern (Pakse) - are displayed in the form of Tone
Charts. Most of the materials are recorded in the five-tone Vientiane
dialect, along with interactive exercises. Grammar notes are also
interactive.

The cultural context in which the language exists is exemplified by
selections of Lao proverbs, folk tales, sung music, and classical
literature, such as Phra Lak Phra Lam, the Lao version of the Indian Rama
epic. The latter is illustrated with photos of the unique frescoes at Wat
Ou Mong, which was unthinkingly demolished in December 2000. Additional
photos are both old and modern scenes in Luang Phrabang and Vientiane.
Historical background notes are included.

Information on food comes from the original notebook of the Royal chef,
Phia Sing. Practical information for foreign tourist and business people
provides important clues about effective cross cultural communication and
working relationships. There are several maps of the entire country at
different historical periods, of linguistic families, of cultural and
natural areas, and of the provinces and districts, including road networks
and accessibility, reproduced with permission from the 2000 Atlas of Laos.
Finally, there are links to other important web sites for information on
Lao matters.

Language Learning

Spoken Lao.
The purpose of this website is to make materials dealing with the
Lao
language and culture freely available to a world-wide audience over the
Web. The core of this project is based on a previously unpublished
book for beginning students, Spoken Lao,
by Dr. Arthur Chrisfield. If you are a novice language learner and
interested in learning the spoken Lao language, this is where you should begin.
For learning to read Lao at the beginning level, start with the alphabet
exercise and explanation of the
writing system. Working from Laos and communicating via the
internet with us at Northern Illinois University, he updated the
lessons and assisted us in adapting them to the World Wide Web.
Two native speakers of the Vientiane dialect were hired to record the
speeches for the dialogs of the first 30 lessons Spoken Lao
using a digital recorder on site in the capital city in the summer of
2002. As part of our efforts to make the lessons more interactive
and lively, we have added several unique and useful features.
Because Lao is a tonal language, it is important for the learner to
understand the underlying patterns of tones and their relationship to
the writing system. This has been achieved through the
development of a color coded Tone Chart of
Vientiane tones that can (should) be accessed by a click of the mouse
from each lesson. Each lesson provides speeches for all of
the conversations; the speeches for all 30 lessons have
been made available for
downloading. (Also to be downloaded are three sets of
fonts:
Lao New Light,
Phonemic,
and IPA. Without them, you will not be able to make sense of
what appears in the language lessons.)
Flashcards and Matching Exercises and two types of
Quiz with immediate feedback too have been created for all of
the Spoken Lao lessons. It is perhaps a bit deceptive to use the
words "spoken Lao" to describe these lessons. Speaking
proficiency will only be achieved by actually engaging in speaking with
a teacher or another speaker of the language. Nevertheless, the
learner can advance his or her skills in listening proficiency and even
reading and writing, depending on the level of dedication and repeated
practice - listening and reading over and over. "Repetition
is the mother of knowledge."

Reading Lao. If
reading Lao is your goal, materials at different levels of
difficulty are displayed on the
main menu:
Basic Lessons include reading the letters of the alphabet,
words, and sentences; Intermediate Lessons employ folktales to capture the humor and
cultural values of the Lao. Even more lively and authentic
is a series of photos of
signs taken in Laos.

Culture Study

This website has several kinds of resources that will
lead the learner to an understanding and appreciation of Lao culture,
from
food, folklore,
and folk tail, such as the classical literature of
Phra Lak Phra Lam, to art,
architecture, and
music. Since most cultural experiences are
experiential and sensory in nature, we have included numerous photos and
drawings. There is an obvious emphasis on Luang
Prabang (pronounced and often
spelled "Pabang," in Lao) because of the beauty of its temples and
natural scenery and because it has been declared a "World Heritage Site"
by The United Nations. General background on the history and
government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) is also
provided along with other practical sources of information for
travelers. Because the majority of the ethnic Lao are Buddhists,
we have included a collection of photos,
Lao
Ceremonies, taken by the talented Hans Georg Berger that deal
with Buddhist rituals and other interesting aspects of ethnic Lao
culture in the Luang Prabang area. The explanatory text is,
however, in the original Lao language, as it is the primary goal of this
web site to provide language learning materials. In the future, we
may find resources to translate the Lao into English for the general
non-Lao public. For the interested traveler, we have included
maps and photos of
travel tours. For business people, there is information on
working with a
Lao business partner. Finally, there is a long list of
outside links to a world of information on Laos.

Below is another way of introducing the contents of the Lao website to
you. Simply scroll down to a topic that interests you and
click on one of the links highlighted in blue.